Hyde Name Origins.

The name "HYDE" is derived from the hide, a measure of land for taxation purposes, taken to be that area of land necessary to support a peasant family. In later times it was taken to be equivalent to 120 acres .

March 2014

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Saturday, 5 January 2013

Shanes Field aka Buttercup Meadow

Below is a photo of Shanes Field aka Buttercup Meadow or the field above Gower Hey Wood.
It was taken in the late 1970's and you can just see the spire of Hyde Chapel on the horizon. The row of houses to the left are on Oxford Road.

The day looked absolutely Beautiful, the flowers in the meadow stunning.I hope that with Gower Hey Conservation Groups excellent work and with the field now no longer being mowed, the field will eventually return to the beautiful wild flower meadow it used to be. Signs are good that this will happen.

7 comments:

Werneth Low
said...

I can't decide about the location of this beautiful photo but I'll tell you where I think it is. When I was a child, living in Kensington Street, my friends and I would often walk up Smithy Fold and get into the field which was at the top, in order to take a short-cut to the swing park. More often than not, Mr Martin's cows were in the field and he would come out and try to chase us off but we were quicker than him! Mr Martin was the farmer at Fern Bank and Raymond Martin's father. I remember buttercups in the field because we used to pick them sometimes. If this is the same field as in the photo, we should be able to see Holy Trinity church tower but I can't seem to, though the chapel spire is clearly visible.

I remember buttercup meadow very well, it really was beautiful.We lived on King George Rd when I was a little girl in the fifties, my friend Jennifer and I were always playing in Gower Hey woods, or off up to the swing park, on our own of course,even though we were only aged 8 or so, no need to worry about us kids in them days, we were out most of the time in all weathers, having great fun. One day Jennifer and I decided to pick some bunches of buttercups from the meadow, and when we got home we put them in quite a few jam jars, made a makeshift table in front of our house, the we made a sign to say they were for sale at 1 penny or tuppence a bunch depending on the size of the bunch, and that the money was going to the hospital, we sold the lot. and it made us feel like little shopkeepers! The fifties was a wonderful time to grow up, such freedom, such adventures, always had plasters on my knees!

Hi Werneth Low and Trish,Yes, It is the field that used to belong to Fernbank Farm and a place I know extremely well. It's still a beautiful meadow although the continued mowing by the council killed off a lot of the buttercups. I sent them a letter explaining this some years ago suggesting they stop mowing so often to allow the flowers to seed. To their credit they have done this and the field is slowly returning to its former glory.Raymond Martin was a character and I miss the chats we used to have as he stood at his gate. God rest his soul.

I'm really sorry to hear that Raymond Martin is no longer with us. He was a character and no mistake. Old Mr Martin was the one I most remember though. As kids we were terrified of him, but it never stopped us from going across his field! How good to hear that we weren't the only ones to take that shortcut to the swingy.

When my dad was a lad back in the twenties he used to live with my Grandma and Granddad at the top house on Oxford Road, which meant that the gable end of their house abutted onto this field. He has told me that in winter the horses used to come and lean on their wall because that was where the chimney from the fire was and of course it was warm.

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